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Autoblog Minute: Focus ST Tuner, Traffic Deaths, Audi EV SUV

Ford releases an upgrade kit for the Focus ST, 2015 shows a spike in traffic-related deaths, and the future of Audi is previewed. Autoblog's Greg Migliore recaps the week. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Ford releases an upgrade kit for the Focus ST, 2015 shows a spike in traffic-related deaths, and the future of Audi, here's a hint it's electric. I'm Greg Migliore, senior editor at Autoblog with these stories and more for your Autoblog Minute weekly recap. Own a Focus ST but suffer from horsepower envy in anticipation of the Focus RS? Not a problem. A $1,900-kit from the developers at Mountune will boost your hot hatch to 275 hp and 296 pound-feet of torque, when running on 93-octane fuel. Traffic fatalities in 2015 see the largest spike in decades. The report from National Safety Council cites more drivers putting in more miles, and distracted driving as contributing to the 14-percent hike in car-related deaths. Audi plans on releasing a fully electric SUV at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check in this Saturday for my complete weekly recap. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Frankfurt Motor Show Audi Ford Driving SUV Electric Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video ford focus st

John Hennessey's personal 2015 HPE700 Supercharged Ford Mustang GT hits 195 mph

Dressed in a coat of menacing black paint, the 2015 Hennessey Performance HPE700 Supercharged Ford Mustang GT definitely looks like one mean muscle machine. The 717-horsepower 'Stang proved that it can back up that aggressive appearance recently when company founder John Hennessey took his personal example to see just how fast it would go. The result down the 1.1-mile straight at the Continental Tires Proving Grounds in Uvalde, Texas, was over 195 miles per hour. The Mustang is nothing but a black blur and wall of supercharger wail as it buzzes by the camera at top speed. Despite the strong result, Hennessey doesn't seem done with the 'Stang yet. The car still seems to be pulling when it hits the rev limiter, and there's some straight track left ahead. After getting out, John Hennessey immediately says he thinks 200 mph is possible. The heart of the HPE700 is a 2.9-liter Roots-Type supercharger running at 7.25 psi. That's a pretty massive blower, especially when considering the 2.4-liter unit on the Hellcat V8. The engine also gets upgrades like improved injectors, a new fuel pump, stainless steel exhaust and recalibrated management. The company claims the upgraded Mustang can hit 60 in around 3.6 seconds and do the quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds at 131 mph. Prices for the package start at $59,500, but this one would would ring up for $65,874. Hennessey Performance is limiting production to 500 of them for the 2015 model year. 2015 HPE700 Supercharged Mustang Rockets to 195.2 mph John Hennessey takes his personal Mustang GT on a Texas road trip Uvalde, Texas-Everything is bigger in Texas, especially when it comes to automotive performance. Texas also lays claim to the highest posted speed limit in America at 85 mph. Enter the team from Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) who are located just west of Houston. John Hennessey and his merry band of performance car builders like to go fast, so much so that they have their own 1/4 mile dragstrip next to their workshop. Recently, the Hennessey team wanted to test their 717 horsepower HPE700 Supercharged Mustang development car (John's personal car and occasional daily driver) beyond the 130+ mph speeds that they have seen on the dragstrip. "Thankfully, we had recently received an invitation from the guys at the Continental Tires proving grounds in Uvalde to come over and do some testing on their 8.0 mile high speed oval", said Hennessey.

Hennessey Ford GT sets 267.6-MPH record at Texas Mile [w/videos]

The record-setting Hennessey-powered camouflage Ford GT we showed you at this time last year headed back to the Texas Mile and managed to bring home yet another record. As you may recollect, last year saw Mark Heidraker's machine sprint to a record 257.7 mph thanks to propulsion from its twin-turbo 5.7-liter V8. The big mill sucks down race gas, and this year the creation pulled off a 267.6-mph run over the weekend. That feat set a new record for the event. Something tells us neither Heidraker nor Hennessey are done squeezing more thrust from this machine.
This particular Ford GT has already gone through a number of permutations. Hennessey started by tweaking the factory supercharger set up before abandoning the blower in favor of two turbos. Since then, the crew has poked and prodded it to coerce as much grunt as possible out of the car. We expect Hennessey will probably come out with a video of the record-setting run shortly, but in the meantime, you can see a couple of videos of the car's runs in Texas below (one of which actually captures the record run). Enjoy.